Philip Seymour Hoffman's friend sues National Enquirer

Philip Seymour Hoffman's friend sues National Enquirer

Tragic PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN's playwright pal DAVID BAR KATZ has followed through on his threat to sue the National Enquirer for publishing fake quotes suggesting he was romantically involved with the late actor.

Published 6th February 2014

Bar Katz, the man who discovered Hoffman's body in his New York home on Sunday (02Feb14), reportedly told the tabloid that he and the Capote star had been involved in a secret affair and that he had seen his pal use drugs the night before his death, but he slammed the article on Wednesday (05Feb14), insisting, "I never said that."

A source close to Bar Katz told the New York Daily News, "This is a categorical, 100 per cent vulgar and disgusting lie. Even the National Enquirer should be ashamed. It's just disgusting. There will be legal action.

"He never spoke to them. This is so far off from reality. We're calling lawyers now to threaten them appropriately."

And now Bar Katz has filed a £31.3 million lawsuit against National Enquirer publisher America Media, Inc., claiming the publication printed a libellous story, falsely stating he gave editors an "exclusive interview".

In the complaint, filed in New York's Supreme Court, his lawyers state: "The story is a complete fabrication. There was no interview. Bar Katz and Hoffman were never lovers. Bar Katz did not see Hoffman freebasing cocaine the night before he died, or at any other time. Bar Katz never saw Hoffman use heroin or cocaine."

His lawyer, Judd Burstein, says, "This article is just disgusting. Here you have Phil's family and his friends grieving, and the Enquirer comes along seeking to make a buck through putrid lies. Worse still, it appears that the Enquirer sent out a press release hyping the story so that it could sell more copies of the magazine. I do not know how these people can sleep at night."